Asparagus

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Asparagus shoots are emerging–here is a crop to test our commitment to delayed gratification!  Some clients have told me they tried growing asparagus but gave up. This perennial vegetable requires a dedicated bed and will produce for decades if well-tended. Growing asparagus well is time-consuming; let’s look at what it takes. One trick is to prepare the planting site well in advance.

 Preparing the bed: Diligently remove all perennial weeds and prevent them from getting established. Add lots of organic matter and water deeply until the plants are  established. If the soil is heavy clay,  prepare a raised bed. Wait a couple of years before harvesting to allow the plants to get established.

Harvesting: Begins for a couple of weeks in the third year. Snap or cut the shoots at the base. After about five years, harvest for almost 8 weeks or as long as the shoots are vigorous and finger-wide. Stop harvesting before emerging shoots are spindly. By allowing the fronds to grow and nourish the plant, we  prevent the plant from losing vigor.

The plants are either male or female. They are sold in nurseries as 1-year old crowns. All-male varieties have the advantage of bigger shoots. Growing them from seed means you will also have slender female plants that put more energy into producing red fruits and seed. Be sure to remove volunteer seedlings so they don’t crowd out the initial crowns. In the autumn after the plants turn yellow, cut them to the ground.

Staking: Do you lean more to the aesthetic or very efficient gardening mode? An asparagus crop is a prime candidate for edible landscaping with its ferny leaves. Stake individual plants or use a horizontal trellis (used for growing long-stemmed flowers) to allow the ferny fronds to sway a bit.

 If you have a no-nonsense, efficient approach to the garden then plant them in a row and place wood or metal posts at both ends. Once the plants are tall and start to bend, string a line from post to post and pin the plants in as the plants mature. A month later twine another string about a foot or two above the first to hold them in place. In any event, asparagus is a delicious addition to the garden.

Serviceberry: A native tree for the edible landscape

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Serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia, is a multi-trunk small native tree reaching about 15 feet high and about 10 feet wide. It is an attractive addition to the garden—in spring it is covered with white blossoms and the foliage turns a butter yellow in autumn. Edible fruits are a favorite with many birds, including the cedar waxwing. There is nothing like a small flock of these delicate birds in ones tree to stop the mind!

Serviceberry does best in a sunny spot but will tolerate partial shade. To encourage growth water it regularly until it is established, then only water during the driest months. Since its native range is from Alaska to California, it should be hardy even in the toughest winters.

Botanical name: Amelanchier alnifolia

(ame-e-LANG-kee-er al-ni-FO-le-ah)

Working around the tree in summer I might nibble on the delicious tiny fruits, but mostly I leave them for the birds. Around here that include  waxwings, goldfinches, thrushes and towhees, among others. The tree provides nectar for hummingbirds. Washington Native Plant Society offers much more information on using them for restoration.

About 25 years ago, I started a nursery bed for young bare-root trees from the conservation district. I planted them in rows that were easy to water and weed; after a couple of years, I transplanted them around my property. A minimum amount of pruning to shape them has really helped their form. Since they are in the rose family and a relative to our common fruit trees, understanding their growth patterns was straightforward. A row of four trees on the property line is a cheerful herald of spring. These photos were taken in 2015. Since then I forgot to water them during some of our summer ‘heat-domes’ and they have struggled. I plan to water deeply once or twice a month in August and September as needed.

Although I have only grown serviceberry seedlings, there are named varieties that have been bred for fruit and landscape appeal. ‘Regent’ serviceberry is a desirable edible landscape plant that was developed in North Dakota. It grows about 8 feet tall and has delicious berries.

Sea Buckthorn or Seaberry

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So you’ve heard of this shrub, Sea Buckthorn, and think you want to try growing it, but you’re not sure if it is a good match for your place? Well, let’s take a look. The reasons to consider it are that as a landscape ornamental with willow-like silvery foliage and attractive orange berries, this is a tough, drought-tolerant plant. A large shrub or small tree, Sea Buckthorn can withstand coastal winds and grows in most soils.

As a permaculture plant Sea Buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides, has lots to offer: it restores degraded sites through preventing soil erosion and fixes nitrogen with the help of soil microbes. The edible and medicinal berry is an up-and-coming super-food that goes by the name Seaberry.

There are a couple of factors to think about, especially if you like to practice right plant-right place. If you want to keep it in polite company within the garden as an 8-foot shrub, purchase a named variety from a nursery. A popular choice is Titan, a Russian variety. Be sure to purchase a male too. You can find it and several other varieties at https://www.onegreenworld.com/ and http://www.raintreenursery.com/

Buy a variety and you get a known quantity; buy open-pollinated seedlings and the plants will be variable in size and shape. They can be very thorny. Since Sea Buckthorn is like Holly (dioecious), the female plant requires a separate male plant to produce fruit. One male can pollinate five females. With seedlings you might wait five years until flowering when you can sex the plants. Some seedlings are sold after they have flowered and are sold as female or male.

Sea Buckthorn trees at Ilana Smith's in Port Townsend (note female tree on left)
Sea Buckthorn trees at Ilana Smith’s in Port Townsend (note female tree on left)

Ilana Smith in Port Townsend has grown these two seedlings in her garden for about 25 years. Although she had never heard of the plant at the time, she was curious to try them. She trained them into attractive small trees, planted in the lawn. Mowing over the years has suppressed suckers (leafy sprouts from the roots).

Windbreaks or hedgerows call for many plants, and neither uniform size nor fruit production is critical. Seedlings are also much cheaper, maybe four dollars instead of twenty-five dollars. This farm in Maine has a great blog about seedlings and they sell both plants and seeds: http://www.jiovi.com/plants.html

How invasive is Sea Buckthorn? In vegetated environments with decent soil it will not become a problem because seeds won’t sprout and seedlings can’t survive with shade. Where it does spread is subarctic regions of the world and deserts of sandy soil with low fertility. It has become a problem in Alberta, Canada where one plant can colonize acres. On the other hand, the fibrous and suckering roots bind sand and add nitrogen, so it has been used extensively in China for reforestation and in the Netherlands for dune restoration. For more information on risks see this site connected with University of Wisconsin, Madison http://uncommonfruit.cias.wisc.edu/seaberry-sea-buckthorn/

I spoke to Phil at One Green World and asked how vigorously the varieties will grow. He told me that at their test farm in Molalla, Oregon there are several twenty-year-old shrubs. The largest varieties are about 12 to 15 feet tall but have not spread more than 6 to 8 feet wide. He recommends Titan for the west coast.

Sea Buckthorn can grow almost anywhere as long as it gets sunlight. If it gets less than half-a–day

sunlight, Sea Buckthorn seedlings will wither. Interior branches on mature plants die out from shading. Seedlings destined for a windbreak could be raised in a nursery bed and kept weeded to prevent shading from surrounding vegetation.

To be continued as Part 2 Seaberry Super-food, berry production

Black Currants

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As I munched a couple of fresh black currants, I could not imagine them shrinking down to the sweet little dried currants I buy from the bulk bins at the co-op. Turns out dried currants are really tiny grapes originally from the region of Corinth, Greece. Maybe you knew that, but I didn’t! Now that I’m no longer confused, I can appreciate fresh black currants on their own merits! The big shiny berries are juicy and aromatic with tiny seeds. Sweet is not an adjective I would use for the ones I have tasted, but aromatic, spicy, and juicy are.

A good reason to include black currants in the landscape or food forest would be for their nutritional value. They have more phosphorus and potassium than any fruit; more iron and protein than any fruit save elderberry; and are highest in ascorbic acid (Vit C).

Where currants really shine are in preserves and beverages. Consider canning the fruit with cherries to make a preserve. It could be an interesting treat during the winter holidays served on crackers with goat cheese.

Mature size is about 3-5 ft high and wide. Space accordingly. Because they can tolerate more shade than many berries they grow well with trees, it’s just they produce less. Since they have shallow roots, currants work well with drip irrigation. Mulch helps them from drying out.

New branches come up from the crown and produce fruit the following year. Prune out wood older than 4 years old so most of the wood is one to three-years old growth.

Rhubarb

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Rhubarb2.24Rhubarb is an underused edible perennial. It offers seasonal variation with bold red stems in spring, handsome large foliage throughout the growing season, and a tall spire of cream flowers that can add visual appeal. Cooked stems can be eaten as a tangy vegetable or in chutney. Deep organic soil produces vigorous plants. Check regularly for snails. Remove flower stem after initial bloom to redirect growth into  stems and foliage. While the leaves are toxic to ingest, they provide excellent biomass for sheet mulching or added to the compost.

Sustainable Garden Functions

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Sustainable gardening is based on ecological principles. When we consider the home garden as an ecosystem, we develop the habit of observing patterns in nature and then look for similar patterns in gardens. Mature organic gardens, like natural systems are complex and rich. One of the goals of sustainable gardening is catching and holding resources.

Always start with the soil— enhance and maintain soil fertility by adding organic matter, so the existing soil microbes can thrive and flourish. Even a degraded site can develop a balanced ecosystem over time as the organic matter decomposes and forms humus. When the microbes of the soil web die, their decayed bodies act as slow-release fertilizer for garden plants. Focus on fertility includes compost, planting nitrogen fixers and other cover crops, adding manure, and growing plants that produce mulch.

We create more resilient gardens when we make connections with all of nature. Select plants that provide habitat for native insects, birds, and animals that can function together in a food web, as part of the home garden ecosystem. Layered gardens include trees shrubs and herbaceous plants that invite more beneficial visitors. The food web becomes more involved as rodents, snakes, and predatory birds engage.

When we design by grouping plants with similar environmental needs together there is less maintenance. Port Townsend’s mild wet winters and mostly dry summers are known as a Mediterranean climate. Native plants and plants from similar climates around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, offer many drought tolerant choices. Woody plants with edible fruits can be planted with an understory of perennial and annual herbs and edible flowers. Remember that perennials and annuals are more work than woody plants, so make sure they serve many functions!

Healthy, well-rooted plants withstand environmental stress caused by weather and poor drainage, and develop better resistance to insect pests and diseases. Planting in beds or mounds edged with paths makes a garden more inviting and eliminates the need for grass.

Gardening to the scale of the property lets us enjoy the intimate small garden or work with generous proportions of larger gardens to include the sky as part of the scale. Larger beds with masses of plants create bold simple patterns. Broadleaf evergreen shrubs and small trees can form the structure or bones of the garden. Strategic placement of flowering perennials and annuals allows us to enjoy the color with less work.

Native tree provides pollen, edible fruit
Native tree provides pollen, edible fruit

An Edible Petiole: Four Reasons to Grow Cardoon

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  • The edible portion, the leaf stalk or petiole, tastes like its sibling artichoke.
  • The form is dramatic—a bold architectural plant for the edible landscape.
  • Electric-blue flowers attract honeybees.
  • This giant perennial provides foliage and stalks for the compost pile.

Harvest Cardoon:

Cynara cardunculus is the botanical name of both cardoon and artichoke. If you grow cardoon as an edible ornamental, just harvest a few stalks in spring, the way you would harvest rhubarb. Let the perennial grow into its statuesque form. The early growth is tender while later in the season the stalks grow bitter. Let the flowers bloom as a bee crop but remove the spiky flower heads before they go to seed. In a few years the plant will be six feet tall.

Serious cardoon eaters, most of who live near the Mediterranean Sea, grow cardoon as an annual row crop planted on three-foot centers. Traditional growers blanch the crop in autumn 2 or 3 weeks before harvesting. Blanching deprives the plant of sunlight to reduce the crop’s bitterness. This process will not enhance the ornamental value, only the edible quality!

Here’s how:  In September or before autumn rains begin, pound a 5-foot stake into the ground close to the crown of each plant and hug the plant to the stake. Next tie twine to the base and spiral up to within six inches of the top. Or tie three separate pieces. Wrap with corrugated cardboard or heavy brown craft paper. Let the top of the plant peek out. Blanch for two or three weeks and then harvest the entire plant. A faster blanching technique  involves cutting roots on one side of the plant, pushing it over without uprooting and covering the plant with dirt.

If you love grey foliage in the garden, but are not interested in the edible petiole, consider this: The Royal Horticultural Society in England has tagged cardoon with their Award of Garden Merit. At Ecology Action Grow-Biointensive the plant has been recognized as a compost crop. A mini-hedge of mature cardoon grows in their Willits garden during the summer and provides carbon for compost piles. Permaculture gardeners like to plant it as an edge crop.

The trick is to harvest the plant before it goes to seed. If you do save seed, please do it responsibly, as escapees have become invasive weeds in Argentina, New Zealand, and parts of California.

Culinary Preparation: Although many traditional cardoon recipes are dairy-rich, Chez Panisse Café has served it as a marinated salad. Prevent the oxidation that turns the leaf stems brown by tossing them in water with lemon juice. Cut stalks to fit in a pan and boil for 15 minutes to remove the bitter flavor. Peel the ribs from large stalks.  Cut into pieces and toss with olive oil and vinegar and garnish with hard-boiled eggs.